I have been on Ideal Protein since November 2012. I have tried to make it fun and exciting by trying a variety of Ideal Protein Foods and recipes. I will post my reviews of the different recipes that I have found, and the different foods that are available.

Ingredients

Directions

Mix all the ingredients but the caramel syrup in a bowl or in your shaker

Spray a medium sized Pyrex

Pour the mix into the Pyrex and bake for 10 minutes

Serve with WF caramel syrup and enjoy!

Review

I was a bit skeptical about this recipe. I love French toast with fresh French bread with a nice crust. So how can you make French bread without bread?

The recipe was easy to prepare and came out of the oven smelling good. I let it cool a little bit (maybe 3-4 minutes), then cut it into 4 pieces. The pieces were quite thin. I drizzled with Walden Farms pancake syrup (didn't have any caramel syrup), and a bit of extra cinnamon.

I was pleasantly surprised when I took my first bite. The cinnamon and syrup really made it taste more like French toast than an omelet! It was moist and tasty. I wish it had been thicker, so I may use a smaller pan in the future, to make it smaller but thicker.

By the time I got to the fourth piece, I wasn't quite enjoying it as much. It felt like a really big portion, and by the end, was a bit soggy. It started tasting more like omelet by the end. I think my mistake was letting it cool for a few minutes, rather than eating it immediately out of the oven.

Friday, 23 August 2013

I deviate once in a while, mostly on weekends. But every weekday, I get up, make my Keurig Coffee (usually Starbucks House Blend), sit down on the couch, put on Canada AM, and drink my coffee and IP Chocolate Drink.

I have tried the Vanilla RTD, Mango Drink, Cappuccino drink, Chocolate pudding blended with ice cubes, Orange drink, and many others. While I enjoy all of those, I revert back to the Chocolate Drink.

I took a break from IP this summer, and I craved that drink. I love how it is thick and creamy, but not too thick. I getting my chocolate fix. I drink it to the last drop, everyday, squeezing the box while trying to get the last few drops with the straw.

When filling in my Ideal Protein order sheet every week, I always glance at the other breakfast items. I think about whether or not I should try something different. I wonder if I will get tired of the same exact thing everyday. Then, I fill in the number 7 next to the Chocolate Drink!!

I love my morning routine. It's ok that it's repetitive and not very exciting. I love not making decisions at that time of day. I love my Chocolate Drink!

Zucchini Chips Recipe

Slice the zucchini nearly paper thin
Use parchment paper on a cookie sheet
Use a sprayer for a very light spray of EVOO
Add salt and pepper

Bake at 170 for 1 hour, then turn them all over one by one... and bake another 50 mins (or more, check each 5 mins for crunchiness level)

Review

I have tried this recipe twice. I don't have a mandolin. The first time, I used the attachment on my KitchenAid Blender to slice the zucchini. It did slice quite thinly, but made quite a mess. The second time, I sliced with a sharp nice, which made the slices quite a bit thicker.

I love the taste of these chips, but I have not been very successful in making them crispy. They looked nice and golden brown, but were still a bit soggy. And the slices that were thicker had to be put back into the oven, and cooked even longer.

I also didn't use parchment paper, but sprayed the cookie sheet. Probably too much oil?

I will ask for a mandolin and parchment paper for my birthday and see if that makes the difference.

Any tips on making them crispy?? If I can get them crispy, LittleStar's rating will go up!

a few vidalia onion slices (optional, these are not caramelized so ok to simmer)

salt, pepper and a dash red pepper flakes!!!

simmer all for about 8-10 mins then puree into a golden soup!!

Review

After having so much success with my flatbread, I needed something to dip m delicious breadsticks into.

Now, keep in mind that I do not really enjoy most hot liquid, including soup. I also did not have most of the orange vegetables called for in the recipe (orange tomato, orange cauliflower, orange zucchini) so I used the 'regular' coloured ones. I also did not use the summer squash, so added a bit more zucchini.

This soup is, without doubt, one of the best things I have ever eaten! It is tasty, heart-warming, filling, just plain delicious!! The colour came out as a beautiful orange, which made me want to eat it even more. The soup is thick (I didn't know how much water to simmer the veggies in, so I kept it to just a little bit and added as I needed to). This was a perfect soup to dip my breadsticks.

I have made it many times in the last few weeks, adding in vegetables that I have in my fridge, including roasted red peppers, cherry tomatoes, shopped up cloves of garlic, green peppers, different spices such as basil, oregano, curry powder, etc. The colour and taste varies depending on the ingredients, but I have been very happy with all of these different combinations.

The best and most impressive part of this recipe is that my children also love it! The first time, I made a batch the size of the bowl, and it was not enough with the kids trying it and wanting some! Now, I make big batches that I can share wih the whole family, and put the leftovers into containers to bring to work.

Review

I've made these muffins many times. I have tried them with different Ideal Protein packets, including milk chocolate and dark pudding, cappuccino drink, butterscotch pudding, and combinations of them when making double-batches.

All of the drink and pudding combinations result in wonderful muffins! The texture is a bit different than a regular muffin (not as doughy), and varies depending on how long you bake them. I find them moist and tasty. They are very portable, which is really nice if you are travelling and need to get those veggies in. I also like that I can grab almost any drink or pudding packet, and make some muffins! I've even used the ready-to-eat chocolate pudding, which made them even more moist.

The yield is 3 fairly large muffins, or, like in the picture above, 6 mini-muffins. I find this a large and satisfying quantity of food for one packet and 1 cup of vegetables.

I've also drizzled these in a bit of Walden Farms pancake syrup (like in the picture) to jazz them up a little bit more.

Monday, 19 August 2013

Chocolate Orange Popsicle Recipe

Add one package of Ideal Protein milk chocolate pudding mix, on package of Ideal Protein orange drink, and approximately 10 oz of water to the shaker. Shake well, then pour into popsicle molds.

Review

I had visions of chocolate orange creamsicles. I had thought of creamy pudding pops. I had dreams of a Christmas time chocolate orange. I had hopes of a cold, refreshing summer treat. Unfortunately, these popsicles were none of these.

These popsicles left an aftertaste. I could barely taste any orange. They were not creamy. They were tasteless. They even sort of separated at the bottom. I LOVE chocolate, but I did not love these popsicles. The only positive thing is that they were still a refreshing treat on a hot sunny day. And it made a lot of popsicles!

They weren't terrible. They just weren't what I expected. It's all about expectations, isn't it??

Cook just as you would a regular pancake, with a bit of olive oil in the frying pan.

Drizzle with Walden Farms pancake syrup.

Review

I couldn't believe how big and fluffy this pancake was. And with the WF syrup, it tasted like the real thing. This pancake was easy to make, and extremely satisfying. It was airy, not heavy at all, and the size made it last a long time. It looked better than the pancakes I made for the kids. Definitely a winner, and a great use of the IP crispy cereal. Best of all, it's unrestricted! I will NOT be using the restricted pancake mix again.

Sunday, 18 August 2013

My favorite part of the Ideal Protein plan is the fact that I get to eat wonderful restricted items! Whether I am craving chocolate, something tangy and crunchy, or something sweet, the restricted items help me with those cravings.

I haven't had very many of the bars, so my favorite are the wafers, soy puffs, and 'chips'.

Orange Wafers - Similar to the strawberry wafers, these two large cookies are very sweet and satisfying.

Ridges - White Cheddar - These 'chips' are nice when I am craving cheese. They are crispy and tasty, however, my coach has mentioned that very few of her clients enjoy them.

Soy Puffs - Apple Cinnamon - Not thinking that this is something that I would enjoy, I was convinced to try these. They are amazing! Sweet, yet the cinnamon adds a wonderful flavour. The only negative is that the kids want to eat them all!

Ridges - Sea Salt and Vinegar - These really remind me of salt and vinegar chips, without the grease! They are nice and crunchy, but stick to my back teeth a bit.

Dill Pickle Zippers - These were in my top 5 for the first few months, but then I started eating more pickles! So I eat these occasionally, and prefer the other ridges.

So, what other restricted treats are not my favorites? The soy nuts. I have only tried them once or twice, but I found them small and not very satisfying. I would much prefer having the zippers or ridges, given the choice. I also tried the Vanilla Crispy Square once, and did not enjoy it. I found it dry and flavourless. Not a repeat for me.

I've also never tried the Ridges - BBQ, and I'm not sure why! I will try them soon and let you know what I think.

Ingredients

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl

Spray a cookie sheet with Pam

Pour mixture

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until desired texture

Review

I was a little leery about trying out this recipe. I had tried the potato puree once before, very early on in my IP journey. I made it per the package instructions, and found that it tasted very pasty, not like mashed potatoes at all. But despite my reservations, I decided to try this recipe.

It was quite a simple recipe to follow. The only modification that I made was to omit the cilantro. I hate cilantro!

The flatbread came out of the oven smelling wonderful! It looked like flatbread. Definitely flat, but I wasn't really sure how flat to lay out the mixture on the cookie sheet. I let it cool for a couple minutes (might have been less because I was really excited!) and cut it with a breadknife into strips. I wanted to eat them as breadsticks with my soup. My first bite was......Amazing! The outside was crunchy and crust like, the inside was moist and tender. The mixture of seasonings gave it that little bit of extra flavour that worked really well together. I ate about half of it dipped into my veggie soup, and the other half plain.

This is definitely something that I will make again. It is also very versatile, depending on how you cut it. I could be used as a flatbread, as a burger bun, as breadsticks, as a sandwich bun. A definite winner and an addition to my list of recipes to make again.